"All good recommendation letters will inform schools about the applicant's hard (technical, analytical, or scholarly) skills and soft (interpersonal, communication, writing) skills."
"Ask admissions officials at whatever level what they value most in a recommendation letter, and you'll probably hear two words: candor and examples. They want to know that you are being honest with them and your praise is backed up by objective facts, concrete examples."
"Your applicant should tell you if his application carries red flags like low grades, weak extracurriculars, or lack of leadership. Even if he doesn't tell you, you'll be doing your best for him if you compensate for these weaknesses by citing offsetting evidence. For example:"Tom's grades were not i"